Setback (architecture)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about step-like recessions in walls. For minimum distances between buildings and the lot line, see Setback (land use).
A series of five setbacks, each of decreasing size, result in the pyramid being much narrower at its peak than at its base.
Setbacks on the pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt

A setback, in the specific sense of a step-back, is a step-like form of a wall or other building frontage, also termed a recession or recessed story.[1] Importantly, one or more step-backs lowers the building's center of mass, making it more stable. A setback as a minimum one-bay indent across all stories is called a recessed bay or recess and is the more common exterior form of an alcove.

Notable upper stories forming a step-back may form a belvedere – and in residential use are considered the penthouse. If part of the roof, then they are a loft or attic/garret.

History

Setbacks were used by people to increase the height of

Teppe Sialk ziggurat or the Pyramid of Djoser
.

For centuries, setbacks were a structural necessity for virtually all multi-level load-bearing

ornamentation
.

The introduction of a

water pumps influenced the physical growth and density of buildings in large cities. Driven by the desire to maximize the usable floor area, some developers avoided the use of setbacks, creating in many instances a range of fire safety and health hazards. Thus, the 38-story[3] Equitable Building, constructed in New York in 1915, produced a huge shadow, said to "cast a noonday shadow four blocks long",[3] which effectively deprived neighboring properties of sunlight. It resulted in the 1916 Zoning Resolution
, which gave New York City's skyscrapers their typical setbacks and soaring designs.

Graph of the 1916 New York City zoning ordinance with an example elevation for an 80-foot street in a 2½-times height district

Setbacks and urban planning

Today many

zoning ordinances, which use setbacks to make sure that streets and yards are provided more open space and adequate light and air. For example, in high density districts, such as Manhattan in New York, front walls of buildings at the street line may be limited to a specified height or number of stories. This height is also called base height.[4] Above that height, the buildings are required to set back behind a theoretical inclined plane, called sky exposure plane, which cannot be penetrated by the building's exterior wall. For the same reason, setbacks may also be used in lower density districts to limit the height of perimeter walls above which a building must have a pitched roof or be set back before rising to the permitted height.[5]

In many cities, building setbacks add value to the interior real estate adjacent to the setback by creating usable exterior spaces. These setback

firefighting apparatus
between buildings.

In the

plaza
, in front of the building.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-59339-492-9
    . Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  2. ^ Cornelius Steckner: Baurecht und Bauordnung. Architektur, Staatsmedizin und Umwelt bei Vitruv, in: Heiner Knell, Burkhardt Wesenberg (Hrsg.), Vitruv – Kolloquium 1982, Technische Hochschule Darmstadt 1984, S. 259–277.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-300-05536-8
    .
  4. ^ "Zoning Glossary - DCP". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  5. ISBN 978-1-61044-550-4
    . Retrieved 3 March 2020.

Further reading

External links

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